Something Good Can Work
by I.Am.Fire
Summary: Sam and Rachel are left crushed and alone in the aftermath of the Fuinn reunion. But, they discover, maybe it isn't such a bad thing after all.
1. Chapter 1

**Something Good Can Work**

**AN:** Just an interesting pairing I thought I'd try. Also, Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy, not me. Enjoy!

Looking from Quinn's sick face to Finn's, Sam finally understood. He had been too preoccupied with the blond cheerleader (well, ex-cheerleader) and his rising status to notice it until now. The fact that she had always hesitated before saying "I love you too," the glances that she had given Finn after the championship game – Sam could steal Finn's star position, his place in the hierarchy, heck, even his sectionals solo, but he would never fully have Quinn.

And, gazing down at Finn as he sniffled and coughed, Rachel understood too. She had never really been Finn's first choice; it wasn't until Quinn had revealed her pregnancy betrayal that he had even approached her as a possible girlfriend. And then, at the first sign of interest from Santana and Brittany, he had left her in the dust again. No matter how much Rachel cared for him, no matter how many presents she gave him or how much affection she showered on him, the quarterback would always relish his "power couple" reputation with Quinn more than he could ever appreciate Rachel.

And that was fine. She wasn't going to look back – she was done with Finn. Hell, she was done with men. Rachel Barbra Berry was back, and nothing was getting in her way this time. She would hold her head up high, march alone through the halls like before, and, on the weekends, sit on the couch with a tub of ice cream and "Funny Girl." God, it was pathetic.

Finn and Quinn went official with their relationship a few days after Tina had caught them making out in the auditorium after school. The gossip surrounded Sam and Rachel, but each of them put their masks on – Rachel had her I'm-more-talented-than-you-imbeciles face, while Sam his under his I'm-a-dumb-jock facade. And they survived; both alone and too proud to show it. However, neither one acknowledged the other.

Until Mr. Schue and his damn "Fate" put them together, that is.

"Alright, guys! This week's assignment is about emotion. Regionals are coming up, and you know that as a group, our strength is displaying how we feel in song. If we want to beat the Warblers, we gotta practice." With that, Mr. Schue clapped his hands and bounced energetically. "We will be singing in pairs, but I thought it would be more interesting if Fate –" the classed groaned loudly, but Mr. Schue just grinned maniacally. " – if Fate would pair you up. Here's the hat – Santana, come on down!"

Santana got Lauren, Brittany was partnered with Mike, Finn was with Tina, Puck had Quinn, Artie partnered Mercedes, and finally, there was no one left but Sam and Rachel. They looked at each other curiously, neither upset nor ecstatic.

"Well, I guess that's it; we'll start performing these next week. Get to work!" With that, the pairs started discussing song choices. Sam and Rachel cautiously approached each other, eying the other one carefully.

"Um...hey."

"Hello, Sam. I know you are not enjoying this, so let us get this over with quickly, shall we?" Sam was puzzled. Had he sounded to annoyed when he said hey? Maybe Rachel was just in a bad mood...

"Are you even listening to me?" The blond quickly snapped out of his reverie and turned to face a seemingly irritated Rachel.

"Oh, sorry- I just...got distracted." To his surprise, Rachel didn't blow up. She simply nodded quietly. Come to think of it, the tiny brunette had been acting subdued ever since the Fuinn show started again. He could tell that she was trying to move on and be strong, but the Jewish girl seemed to be a shadow of her former self.

Just like him.

"Anyways, let's just pick a song, shall we? I was thinking that since we have something in common, we could sing about..."

"No," Sam interrupted suddenly. "Singing a song about heartbreak would be like letting them winning. Letting them get to us. And we," he said fiercely, indicating the two of them, "aren't losers. We are going to sing a rocking duet that will be like sticking our middle finger up to those two!" To Sam's complete shock, Rachel giggled. Actually _giggled._ Now grinning proudly, Sam was suddenly hopeful. Looked like things were looking up.

"Okay, how about we meet tomorrow after school? We can go over more songs then."

"Cool with me. Where are we gonna meet?"

"Well...if it is acceptable to you, my house is always free. However, if this arrangement is uncomfortable for you, we can always–"

"Your house is cool. Hey, I'll drive you there."

"I think I will take you up on that offer."

The next day, Sam was walking to fifth period English when he saw his duet partner at her locker. Just as she was going to her next class, a couple of hockey players (the football team and New Directions seemed to have reached an uneasy truce) casually some slushies at the poor girl's face and walked away, laughing. Anger and concern surged through the blond jock and he jogged over to a sopping wet Rachel Berry. She seemed to be holding herself together with some difficulty, and she opened her locked again to get a change of clothes.

"I'm gonna go after those puckheads and –" Rachel interrupted Sam quietly, sounding defeated.

"Don't. If you confront them, it's just going to get worse. Please, don't make it harder for me." Sam was now seeing red. A small part of his mind wondered where these protective feeling were coming from, but he quickly dismissed it to just being concerned for a fellow Gleek.

"But, Rachel- they just slushied you without a second glance! That's not fair at all!"

"I have come to find out that life isn't fair, Sam. Anyways, I have to go clean up. And I'm going to be late for Chemistry _again._"

"Let me help you." Sam uttered the words before his brain could even catch up with what he was saying. He, Sam Evans, was going to help _Rachel freaking Berry?_ It was too weird. But, he realized, he didn't give a crap.

"Sam, that's sweet, but I don't really –" The jock cut her off determinedly.

"Come on. Let's get you cleaned up." Rachel seemed to deflate and nodded mutely. Sighing, she walked to the girl's bathroom and turned on one of the sinks. Sam gently started washing the cherry syrup out of Rachel's hair. His brain couldn't even process the weirdness of it all, and the only thought in his head was _this feels nice_. After Rachel's hair was clean and dried, she went into one of the stalls, and came out in one of her regular dress-and-tights ensembles. She walked uncertainly up to Sam and, after a moment's hesitation, hugged him fiercely. The blond was taken aback, but then wrapped his arms around the tiny brunette. The only thing he could think about was how they kind of fit together perfectly.

He was probably just imagining that part, though.

Rachel stepped back and wiped her eyes. She took a long, shaky breath, and then looked up at Sam and smiled softly. It wasn't one of her too-bright, unnatural smiles; this one was soft and natural and real.

"I just want to thank you, Sam...for taking the time to do that. That's – that's the first time anyone has ever done that for me." Sam smiled back at her reassuringly.

"Well, it won't be the last. Miss Rachel Berry," he took a mock bow and offered his arm pompously, causing her to giggle. "would you do me the honor of letting me walk you to class? And, after that," he lowered his voice and said earnestly, "I would like it if you were my friend." Rachel stared at him in shock. For a moment, Sam thought he had screwed up. Then, she smiled one of her genuine smiles.

"Of course I would, good sir." With that, she took his arm and the two of them strolled down the hallways of McKinley. Sam looked down at Rachel, and Rachel looked up at Sam, and they grinned at each other brightly. The same thought ran through both of their heads:

_ I could get used to this._

**AN:** I think I will be making this a multi-chap; there's so much more potential in this pair! Anyways, thanks for reading, and hopefully there will be more to come.

cheers,

~Avalonfreak


	2. Chapter 2

**Something Good Can Work**

**AN: **I'm floored by the amount of reviews and story alerts this story had gotten! Honestly, I opened my email the other day and just about _died._ Thanks so much, everyone- **I will try to answer all the signed reviews.** On a side note, the song they're singing has been shortened as per Glee. Anyways, on with the story!

**Disclaimer:** Glee does not belong to me.

From that moment, walking down the hallway with Sam, Rachel knew that she was finally on the road to recovery. No more spending her days pining over Finn – her newfound friend was there to fill the gaps. Sam understood her, and didn't let her waste time thinking about the quarterback.

Surprisingly, Rachel and Sam had another friend to add to the mix. Noah Puckerman was equally disgusted at Finn and Quinn's betrayal, and stuck to Rachel's side like a loyal -and ferocious- leech. ("Lemonhead and I have got your back, Rach.") Together, the three of them walked the halls of McKinley High confidently, and never looked back.

The biggest thing that changed for Rachel was that she finally had two people who would always protect her, and finally – _finally_, the slushies stopped. It took a while, but people eventually started to realize that messing with Rachel meant that you were confronted (and pounded on) by two very angry, very muscular football players. It was more than Finn had ever bothered to do for her.

The day of Rachel and Sam's duet finally came, and Sam was freaking out. After much debating, they had decided to do Pink's "So What." Well, Rachel had pretty much ignored his protests and demanded to do the song, but that wasn't the point. Sam had argued that this song was way out of his comfort zone, he couldn't belt like that, he _couldn't sing it._ But the tiny brunette, with her typical Rachel Berry-ness, had said that he needed to be pushed to his limits, and if he wanted to be the new Glee Club leader over Finn, he needed to sing like he deserved it.

"Sam, you can sing this song. If Finn can sing it, you can too."

"I can't! Rach, I'm not as good of a singer as Finn is-" Suddenly, a small hand tugged his collar down until he was face-to-face with a ferocious diva. She pulled him closer until his faces was inches away.

"Samuel Evans, if you even _try_ to tell me you can't or won't sing this song, then you are not worthy of the position of New Directions captain." Sam was so stunned that he lost the ability to speak. Rachel took advantage of his silence to triumphantly release the jock and grin smugly.

"We will be singing "So What," and you will, as they say, 'kill it.' Now come on, let's practice. If you are going to be showing Finn who's the better singer, than you will need to work on your vocals until they are sufficient enough to do this song. Here are the lyrics..."

And so Rachel pushed and coached and hounded Sam until he could vocally keep up with her, and surpass Finn. Every day, Sam would pick Rachel up and the two of them would go to her house and sing. She also helped him with his homework, and many times the blond found himself staying for dinner. During the space of the week, Sam grew closer and closer to Rachel, and started to notice the little quirks that made her unique. Like the way she was a complete vegan. And the way she would put gold stars on all the homework assignments he did well on. And the way her hair was so soft and perfectly curly...

Every time Sam caught himself thinking about _that stuff,_he would hastily clear his brain and yell at himself for his idiocy. Rachel was his friend – his very good friend, who smelled like strawberries, and loved wearing short skirts, and maybe she tasted like strawberries too...?

"Stop it," he said aloud without thinking, and Rachel paused, confused.

"Stop what? I was not aware that I was doing anything that needed to be stopped..." Sam shook his head embarrassedly.

"Oh – um, sorry, Rach. I was just thinking out loud, I guess. About...video games. Rachel looked at Sam curiously, and frowned in concern.

"Video games? You know those are not healthy, Sam; there is so much violence! Noah tried to get me to play 'Fall of Duty' once – "

"Call of Duty," Sam interrupted with a grin. It was so cute that Rachel got the name mixed up – wait, cute? No, not cute. Funny. (Cute) Weird. (Cute) Annoying. (Really cute)

"And all the blood and gore was just ghastly! I cannot believe people enjoy these kinds of things–"

"Um," Sam hastily interjected, "can you show me how to sing this one part?"

And now, one week later, a very confident Rachel and a slightly nervous (but still excited) Sam stood with their back to the audience, in the choir room. For once, Rachel didn't have her typical ensemble on. The two singers were wearing jeans, Converse, black t-shirts, and leather jackets. Sam couldn't help but notice how Rachel's jeans hugged her long legs, and how good that leather jacket looked on her – no, it didn't. He wasn't paying attention to Rachel. He was focusing on the song, the song...what song were they singing again?

Then the music kicked in and Sam's forgot about everything else but this; showing Finn up, pushing it back into Quinn's face. It was go time. Suddenly Rachel spun around and started singing.

_**Guess I just lost my husband,**_

_**I don't know where he went.**_

_**So I'm gonna drink my money,**_

_**I'm not gonna pay his rent. **_

_**I'm gonna get in trouble,**_

_**I wanna start a fight.**_

Sam now spun around also and joined in the chorus, heart thumping like crazy.

_**Na na na na na na na,**_

_**I wanna start a fight.**_

_**Na na na na na na na,**_

_**I wanna start a fight!**_

__By this point Rachel was smirking at Finn and Quinn, who were looking steadily more and more humiliated. The other Glee kids were dancing, cheering, and singing along. Rachel turned to look at Sam...and her heart nearly stopped. His intense green eyes were focused on her face, and he seemed to be only looking at her. With a surge of something -she didn't know what it was- she noticed how good looking the jock really was. Chiseled and fit, unlike Finn, and his eyes were to die for. Why hadn't she noticed before? Grinning at him, she started belting out the melody while he followed.

_**So, so what?**_

_**I'm still a rock star,**_

_**I got my rock moves,**_

_**and I don't need you**_

_**And guess what?**_

_**I'm havin' more fun**_

_**and now that we're done,**_

_**I'm gonna show you **_

The next part was belted directly at the couple who had broken their hearts at left them without a second glance. This was for the two people whose status mattered more than the people who loved and cared about them. This was revenge. And it felt _good._

_**Tonight**_

_**I'm all right,**_

_**I'm just fine,**_

_**and you're a tool, so**_

_**So what?**_

_**I am a rock star,**_

_**I got my rock moves,**_

_**and I don't want you tonight.**_

__Sam executed a classic "rock star" kick, and Rachel spun smoothly, then smirked at her partner.

_**Uh, check my flow, uh...**_

__Then Sam took over on the bridge, and he smashed it like nobody's business. The blond saw Finn's jaw dropping, and took pleasure in Mr. Schue's awestruck expression. He poured his heart and soul into the next verses – he had been dumped, cheated on, betrayed. And this? This was what he had to say about it.

_**You weren't fair**_

_**you never were**_

_**you weren't at all**_

_**but that's not fair**_

Rachel joined in, softly harmonizing under Sam's melody.

_**I gave you life**_

_**I gave my all**_

_**you weren't there**_

_**you let me fall...**_

Quinn looked like she was near tears, and Finn was trying to comfort her. But Sam didn't care – this was _his_ last stand, his final thoughts about this whole disaster. He was done with her. With them.

_**So, so what?**_

_**I'm still a rock star**_

_**I got my rock moves,**_

_**and I don't need you**_

_**And guess what?**_

_**I'm havin' more fun**_

_**and now that we're done (we're done)**_

_**I'm gonna show you**_

__By now, the whole Glee club -except for Finn and Quinn- were on their feet, rocking out. Mike and Brittany started dancing back-up, while Mercedes and Artie added some funky riffs. Meanwhile Sam and Rachel had jumped off the stage and were jamming to the last verses.

_**Tonight,**_

_**I'm all right**_

_**I'm just fine**_

_**and you're a tool, so**_

_**So what?**_

_**I am a rock star**_

_**I got my rock moves**_

_**and I don't want you...**_

__The two singers stopped and lowered their voices, soulfully harmonizing on the last note.

_**Tonight.**_

For a minute, there was silence. And then, nearly the entire New Directions broke out into crazy cheering, clapping and whistling, and Mr. Schue grinned like mad. Sam and Rachel looked at each other, breathless, and silently acknowledged their success.

"That was awesome, guys! Rachel, I liked the edgy-ness. And Sam...whoa. I didn't know you could sing like that!" Sam smiled down at Rachel.

"Yeah, neither did I." Then Rachel, in all her diva-like glory, stepped up and spoke to the club director importantly and proudly.

"Well, Mr. Schuester, I did. And as captain of the Glee club, I think Sam deserves to be my co-captain. He took initiative and sang a song out of his comfort range – and he did amazingly well." Now, Finn stood up, looking furious. He turned on Rachel angrily.

"What the hell? Rach, you can't – " The Jewish girl cut him off with an Ice-Queen glare worthy of Santana or even Kurt.

"Don't. Call. Me. _Rach._" The entire gee club went completely silent at that, and looked from Rachel to Finn. Mercedes mouthed a silent "you go, girl!" at an icy Rachel. Finn looked like he had been slapped.

"I honestly don't think you should be one to speak, Finn. You've been too preoccupied with your new trophy girlfriend to be a good leader in this club, and honestly?" At this, Rachel smiled wickedly. "Your singing skills are sadly lacking in comparison to Sam." Finn went deathly pale, and all the kids gasped. Puck was smiling proudly at Rachel, muttering to Sam about how he had taught her to be badass. Rachel once again turned to Mr. Schuester, whose jaw was currently on the floor.

"As a future star and leader, I ask –no, I _demand_,– that you make my friend Sam the new co-captain of New Directions. As you can see, he is more than suitable for the job." Mr. Schue just nodded in shock.

"Alright, Rachel. Sam – congratulations. You and Rachel are the new co-captains of Glee Club!"

Everyone ignored Finn's protests and whooped loudly for Sam, who was grinning crazily. Suddenly he turned and swooped Rachel into a hug, lifting her off of the floor and spinning her around. When he set the brunette down, she kept holding onto him, her face inches from his. She smiled that soft smile he loved so much.

"Good job," she breathed softly. When Puck started wolf-whistling and Mike began cat-calling, they let go of each other, suddenly awkward and embarrassed. But for the rest of the afternoon, neither could stop giving the other sudden smiles and shy glances.

All in all, it had been a good day.

**AN: **Well, that's that! Hope you liked it. By the way, I will probably be putting out a Valentine's Day one-shot about Rachel and Sam, but it is not related to or a spin-off of this story. Thanks!

Cheers,

~Avalonfreak


	3. Chapter 3

**Something Good Can Work**

**AN: **So sorry for the long delay; I was a little stuck on inspiration. But I'm back, so no worries. Thanks once again for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites...I hope this next chapter is worth the wait. Also, Glee does not belong to me. Enjoy!

Sam picked up his phone, ignoring the last fifty (or so) messages from Quinn. Yeah, she was pretty, and yeah, she used to be the best thing in McKinley to him, but now – he had found her out for who she really was: a popularity whore with a penchant for ruining other people's lives to climb up the social ladder. And, even worse, she just couldn't seem to understand his...well, dorkiness.

Every time he would speak in Na'vi or do a Darth Vader expression, she would just roll her eyes and tell him to "stop acting so weird, Sam, you have a reputation to protect!" She never let him pick his favorite sci-fi movies on date nights – no, they had to watch some stupid chick flick. It was only now, looking back, that the blond boy realized that Quinn never really _got _him.

Rachel did.

Rachel Berry was something of an enigma. The first time he had greeted her with a cheerful "_Kaltxi!" _instead of scoffing and shushing him like Quinn always did, she simply grinned and asked him if that was Na'vi he was speaking. At his affirmation, she had admitted that she had only seen a little bit of the famed movie.

"You haven't seen all of Avatar? I can't believe it!"

"Samuel, calm down..."

"How can I calm down? Avatar is, like, _the _greatest movie in the history of great movies! How can you not have seen it?" The blond jock was practically spazzing out at this point. Rachel calmly laid a small hand on his arm, and he immediately froze and blushed. A faint tinge crept up the tiny singer's cheeks as well, but she ignored it. She did that soft-angel-smile thing at him, and _damn it Sam, stop staring at her – you're probably creeping her out, idiot. _

"Perhaps, we should see it together and you can explain the merits of the film? I understand that it won several Oscars for art direction and such..." Sam had been so caught up in his self-criticizing that he hadn't been paying attention up to this point. All his mind had caught was _**we should see it together. **_Before he could stop himself, he blurted out what his brain had secretly been screaming.

"You mean, like a date?"

Both of the singers stopped their movements and turned bright red. Rachel turned to him carefully and calmly, trying to keep any tears under control. To her, it had sounded like he was disgusted at the thought. _Don't be stupid, Rachel. What could he see in you, after dating a girl like Quinn? It happened with Finn too...don't you ever learn?_

"I was thinking it to be more like a friendly get together...I do have a wonderful at home viewing theatre, which was why I suggested you come. If the idea is uncomfortable to you, than never mind..." Sam hastily backtracked, getting tongue-tied and mangling his words.

"No, I – it – that's not, well you see, I meant – friends. Get together. Yes." By this time, the jock was so flustered and red, he resembled something of a sweaty tomato. _Real smooth, Sam. And see? She doesn't even like you that way. There is no way I could compete with someone like Finn. Stupid. _

Luckily, they were just pulling into the school parking lot, which gave them an excuse to not have to continue their awkward conversation any longer. Mumbling stuttered goodbye's at each other, the two Glee kids practically ran to their separate ways.

Now it was Saturday and Sam was trying to summon the courage to call Rachel about their not-date. He had nearly pressed "call" twenty times, before sighing and canceling the number. Each time, his brain had jeered at him, telling him he was a coward. And he was. A coward, that is. Finally, Sam steeled himself and determinedly pressed the green Call button before he could think twice about it.

"_**Hello?"**_

"Hey, Rach, it's Sam." The boy in question fought to keep his voice steady. What was wrong with him? He had been so smooth around Quinn, but he couldn't even form a coherent sentence around this tiny brunette Diva. And it wasn't even a real _date_, for God's sake! Rachel's voice brought him back to the conversation at hand.

"_**Oh, hello, Sam. Is something wrong? Do you need something?" **_

"Yeah, actually – something is very wrong. There's this girl I know –" At the other end of the line, Rachel felt her heart drop in disappointment. Of course, he would call her about his girl problems. Sam probably saw her as one of the freaking _guys._

" – and she's never seen Avatar before. Plus, she promised me that we could see it together, 'cause that chick definitely need an intervention. Do you think that I'd be able to come over to her house? Because I heard she has a pretty wicked in home viewing theatre, in her words." Rachel's heart shot straight back up and seemed to lift her right up off her feet. The brunette couldn't help letting out a tiny giggle.

"_**That sounds pretty serious. I say you get over to her house right now –" **_Sam couldn't help the lopsided, goofy grin that spread across his face. He probably looked like an idiot right now, but the jock could care less. _**" – and I bet that if you arrive this instant, you'd be just in time for dinner." **_

"Well, thanks for your help! I feel much better now." With that, Sam quickly promised to be there within the next three minutes, and flew downstairs. His mom peered around the kitchen door concernedly as Sam fumbled to brush his hair, button his shirt, and find his shoes simultaneously.

"Sam, honey? Where are you going?" Without pausing, the teenager called back an answer over his shoulder.

"Over to Rachel's house. Can you believe she's never seen Avatar?" Laura Evans quickly hid a smile behind her hands. She was a smart woman, and she could tell that Sam's "friendship" with the tiny singer was more than just that. She also sensed that the relationship the two had was vastly different than that of Sam's first girlfriend. Quinn, while polite enough, seemed rather introverted and awkward, and did not fit as well into the Evans household. The former cheerleader had looked on Sam as one would a toy or puppy – cute, but a bit stupid. She had yet to meet Rachel properly, though, and was determined to soon.

"Sam. I think you should think about bringing Rachel over _here _sometime...?" Laura prompted her son delicately. Suddenly, Sam flushed a bright tomato red. He fumbled around, looking indignantly at his mother.

"Mom! I told you, we're _just friends. _There's no need to freak out, okay?" The poor teenager was clearly 'freaking out' himself. Laura just smiled knowingly. She could see clearly that this girl was definitely something special for her son, and none of his bluffing could hide that.

"This Friday. Dinner at our house. She's Jewish, correct? I should start looking up kosher meals..." with that, the matriarch of the Evans family wandered off to the kitchen, musing. Sam sighed. There was no fighting his mother; it seemed that Rachel would be having dinner with the family this Friday. How did his mom do that? See right through him and his mask? _At least she's not found out about...the other thing. Mom's food is good, but I can't afford to eat it. It's disgusting, the way the fat drips off my body. _Sam was knocked out of his self-deprecating thoughts by the beep of his watch.The blond boy looked at it and freaked out all over again. He quickly tied his shoes, buttoned the last buttons, and raced out the door.

Five minutes later, an out-of-breath Sam Evans made his way to the Berrys' front door. He rang the doorbell and it opened almost immediately to the smiling face of Rachel Berry. She was dressed simply in pajama pants and a _Wicked_ t-shirt. Sam liked this side of her: no hiding behind the animal sweaters (although they were admittedly cute) or tights...just Rachel. She tugged him into the Berry house.

"What took you? And why do you look so out of breath? Oh my God, are you okay? Are you having a fit? _DO I NEED TO CALL 911?_" Sam chuckled and shook his head. The need for drama and general overreacting – that was yet another of the funny little quirks that he loved about Rachel. _Did I just say love? What I meant was liked. That's right, brain, __**liked**__. Because I like Rachel. As a friend. Seriously._

"Nah, my mom kinda held me back. She, uh...she wanted to know whether you wanted to come over for dinner. Next Friday. At my house. To eat. Dinner." Sam mentally kicked himself. _Wow, dorkus. That was insanely smooth. Not. _Instead of laughing at him or rolling her eyes, Rachel just smiled excitedly and nodded her consent.

"Of course, I would love to come over! Please tell your mother that I accept her kind invitation and that she can expect me on Friday. Now, about dinner...I know you enjoy my vegan salads, so I took the liberty of making some for you. I hope it's enough..." Sam followed her, grinning that dopey smile again. Only Rachel would remember about his strict diet. Okay, so maybe he had lied and said that he was also vegan, but Rachel didn't need to know about his...issues. _Just another thing that makes me the wrong guy for her. She deserves someone perfect, not a fatty like me._

Dinner was a fun -if nerve racking- affair. Not because Sam felt uncomfortable around Rachel's family; no, it was just the difficulty of pretending to eat, while secretly throwing the the more "fatty" stuff into a nearby plant. He knew Rachel would freak if she knew, but he had an image to uphold, okay? He couldn't get any fatter than he already was.

Afterwards. The two sat on the couch, about to watch what Sam deemed to be "the most epic movie of all time." Rachel giggled at the slightly psychotic gleam in her friend's eye.

"Are you okay? You seem a little _too _excited about this to be considered normal." Sam turned to her in all seriousness.

"Well, maybe I'm just not normal, then." He waited carefully to see Rachel's reaction to the statement. Would she drop him like Quinn had? After a split-second, Rachel grinned at him, and the room seemingly got a few degrees brighter.

"Then it's a good thing I'm not normal either, isn't it?" The blond let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding.

Rachel Berry was just about freaking _perfect._

**AN: **And so ends chapter three! This seemed like an appropriate place to end it, so I'm just gonna leave it at that. And on a side note: I know some eating disorders have been mentioned in this chapter. I just want to let everybody know that this _will_ be elaborated on in the next (and future) chapters, so if it makes you uncomfortable, please stop reading. Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

**Something Good Can Work**

**AN: **Thanks so much for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites! I'm sorry for the delay in updates – this past week was tech week for my school musical, so it's been pretty crazy. And then, the day I finished a chapter, ffnet decided to magically stop working. Whoopee. In advance, I apologize if I've inaccurately portrayed any eating and self-image disorders; any mistakes were not intentional. I also do not own any aspect of Glee. Once again, thanks for reading, and enjoy!

Sweat poured down Sam's face and rolled off of his back. The teenager was sprinting on the treadmill in McKinley's weight room, feet pounding away as though there were no tomorrow. It had been exactly two days since Sam's not-date with Rachel, and the blond jock had been wallowing in self-hate ever since.

_Rachel turned to Sam, grinning mischievously. "Well, I must say...not bad. Not bad at all. I feel that the love story between Neytiri and Jake, although overdone, was rather touching. Did you know I was planning to audition for __Avatar on Ice__?" Sam grinned goofily back. This was the perfect life to him...sitting next to Rachel, talking about the best movie in the world...sitting next to Rachel. But then, without warning, that voice in his head started whispering to him, telling him that Rachel was staring at his flab in disgust, that he could never impress her. And before he could even stop himself, a question burst out from him. _

"_Do you think I'm fat?"_

_ There was a second of shocked silence, and in that one second, Sam had his answer. Of __**course**__ she thought he was fat; how couldn't she? After going out with Puck and Finn, she could never deign to look at a lowlife like him. Rachel couldn't even give him a straight up answer – who knew how disgusted she felt? Before Rachel could open her mouth, the blond teen shot up off the couch, trying to hold back tears. He pushed away the shocked brunette's outstretched hand with an "I get it. I know how you feel – just next time, say it to my face, will you?" With that outburst, he rushed out of the Berry household, slamming the front door after him. _

The two singers hadn't talked since that day. Not for lack of trying on Rachel's part – Sam had to admit, the girl showed a surprising amount of determination when she was trying to get something. He had been ducking in nearby bathrooms and janitor's closets for the better part of the day, trying to avoid her. Sam already knew what she was going to say; he didn't want to hear some weak, lame-ass apology followed by fake sincerity and concern. He saw the way she had looked at him on Saturday, the way her eyes had evaluated his pathetic body. And while he finally knew that he could never deserve Rachel, the least he could was to try and come up a little closer in standard to the other boys, right? It would just take a little extra effort, that was all.

He just had to eat less and work out more. Which was normal, wasn't it?

The jock mentally went through his daily calorie intake. Sam never ate anything without checking the nutrition sidebar first, so he knew exactly the number of calories he consumed per day. For breakfast, if he just cut down from and apple, a banana, and milk to an apple and water, that would help shave off a little weight. And for lunch he could have a vegan salad. And for dinner...Sam cursed. His mother believed in the "feed your children until they burst" philosophy, so he'd never get away with his little diet. How the hell was he supposed to work the flab off if his mother insisted on giving him so much food? Then the perfect idea hit him – he would just have to purge it out. All those carbs and proteins couldn't be that beneficial anyway, so what was the harm in ridding himself of the toxins?

Of course, he would also have to get into the workout room more. The blond boy decided to double his time from two hours to four. So what if it sounded a little tough? That was probably what the other guys did anyways. _No pain, no gain, _he thought. With these new goals in mind, he upped the speed of his treadmill for the last half hour.

_Perhaps it's not the solution yet, but it's a start. _

Two weeks later, an exhausted, gaunt, sickly teenager stumbled into the weight room. His cheekbones stood out, his hand were trembling, his hair and eyes were dull, and there was a continuous burn in the back of his throat from the vomiting. On top of that, he was failing his classes, skipping Glee, and steadfastly avoiding a now less persistent Rachel. Despite all this, Sam felt...proud. Finally, he was on the road to perfection. Maybe, someday, he'd be able to look Rachel in the eye and she would gaze at his fit, toned body in wonder. Maybe someday, he'd be able to look Quinn in the eye and she would regret cheating on him.

If only he could look himself in the eye first.

Sam shuffled over to the full-length mirror tiredly. He lifted his shirt off and examined himself with a critical eye. Yes, he had definitely dropped a good number of pounds. And so what if his ribs were beginning to stick out? What did it matter that his arms and legs looked painfully thin? That was obviously just part of the process. Soon, his abs would rival that of Puck's and even Mike's. He just had to work a little harder. The teen sighed and headed off towards the treadmill. Might as well get some exercise in before his next purging.

In the meantime, Rachel was steeling herself to do something she never thought she would have to do – skip Glee. Yes, the situation had actually gotten this incontrovertibly bad. She, Rachel Barbara Berry, was going to _voluntarily_ miss this afternoon's Glee rehearsal to go and look for Sam. What were things coming to? Sam was just a high school guy. Had he really wormed his way so deeply into her heart? Did she really care for him so much that she was going to go to these lengths for him?

The answer to that was yes.

As much as she wanted to hate the blond boy for driving her to this with his stubborn attitude and melodrama, she couldn't. Rachel found, to her great surprise, that Sam was quite possibly her best friend in all of Lima. The best thing that had ever happened to her, if she could be honest. He was sweet, genuine, smart, kind, funny...her fathers liked him. Her _fathers_ actually liked him, even after they had sworn that they would never like any boy after everyone that had hurt their princess so much. (Except for Puck. Puck was her friend, and he was Jewish, which put him in their good books.) He was pretty much everything to her now, putting her back together after Finn had broken her. She couldn't just abandon him after all of that.

With this in mind, the tiny Jewish girl determinedly marched past the choir room and headed towards the gym. Perhaps Sam was shooting hoops...

Those nasty, tiny voices in his head were back. Sam thought that after starting his road to recovery, they would go away. But it seemed like the problem had just gotten worse. Every time he ate a bite of food, or got a test question wrong, or even exercised, the demons in his mind would come and haunt him. They jeered at him, mercilessly picking out every flaw in him and blowing it up times a billion. These voices were his worst enemy, much crueler than any classmate or bully could be. And with them constantly in his head, Sam felt like he was being pulled underwater. He was drowning in self-hate and misery, and no one was there to save him.

_Well, look who it is. Our resident fatso._

Sam shook his head as if to fling the voices out of his head. He didn't want this again.

_Trying to shed some pounds again, eh? Well, it isn't working. You'll never be thin. Or handsome._

The teen's breath grew heavier as he tried to outrun the taunts, feet hitting harder and harder.

_No wonder Quinn cheated on you with Finn. Who would want to stay with someone as disgusting as you? _

Sweat rolled down Sam's face, mixed with tears that the boy refused to acknowledge.

_Because you are disgusting. You're no better than the dirt on the floor. _

He wasn't crying. Sam didn't cry. He was better than that.

_You'll never be worth anything._

Sam ran faster, pushing his boundaries.

_Fat._

Faster.

_Ugly._

Faster.

_Stupid._

Faster.

The weight room grew fuzzy as Sam started getting tunnel vision. His head swum, his breath came in wheezy gasps, and his eyes rolled back in his head. In his hallucinated state, he almost thought that he could hear Rachel calling out for him. The voices reached a fever pitch.

_Stupid fatty dumb ugly worthless useless no-good geek loser freak show idiot coward failure slow flabby overweight disgusting challenged trouty mouth fat cheeks ugly hair doughy arms no abs fake_

Just before Sam hit the ground, his eyesight fading and his body aching, he vaguely heard the door slam open and a girl's shocked gasp.

"Sam? _**Sam?**__"_

**AN: **And there's chapter four! Thanks so much for all the support – it's been your guys' reviews and incredible stories that inspired me, and I think this is my favorite chapter so far. Okay, so now for my thoughts on "Original Song –"

KLAINE. KISSED. HOLY. _CRAP. _

I swear I screamed like a fan girl when I saw it! Also, "Trouty Mouth" might just be the best song in the world. Sam's face when Santana was singing it...priceless. In addition – Quinn's now my least favorite character, I think Brittana is endgame, Finn needs to be pushed off of a stage, and Puck and Mercedes' songs are also among my favorites. Can't wait for this Tuesday!

cheers,

~Avalonfreak


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